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| Above, the Superman Week luncheon. Photo by The Adventures Continue. |
It had been a while since I last thought of Café Pinot in downtown Los Angeles next to the L.A. Central Library.
Following the "Superman Week" ceremony at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in July 2001, we migrated over to Café Pinot for a luncheon. I was in charge of getting the events organized and had searched for a suitable venue for the lunch. After some checking around, I settled on Café Pinot.
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| Above, Paul Levitz and Joanne Siegal at the luncheon. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Attendees from the Adventures of Superman included Jack Larson, Noel Neill, Robert Rockwell and Mrs. Robert (Betty) Shayne and daughter Stephanie. Also attending was Paul Levitz, who was then vice president of DC Comics and Joanne Siegal, widow of Superman creator Jerome Siegel and her daughter Laura. I remember the food was quite good.
I did a Google search a little bit ago and found that Cafe Pinot closed for good in April 2019.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
Café Pinot, Joachim Splichal’s California-French restaurant next to the Los Angeles Central Library, is closing after nearly a quarter century. Its last day of service is Friday.
“Twenty-five years is a long time, but we’re evolving,” David Stork, Patina’s vice president of operations, said Thursday as the patio lunch crowd dissipated on a beautiful spring day. “It’s been a great run.”
Splichal opened Café Pinot in early 1995 with chef Octavio Becerra and a menu that channeled market produce and bistro favorites for the downtown and nearby theater and museum crowds.
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| Above, Noel Neill at Café Pinot.* Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
During the luncheon, I was fretting about collecting the money for each person's lunch, but Paul Levitz caught everyone by surprise by picking up the tab for the whole luncheon. Great guy!
The luncheon was an enjoyable and relaxed affair and attendees to this day remember it fondly.
To read more, go here.
*The above photo of Noel Neill (and the back of Jack Larson's head) has never been published/posted before. I just scanned it and added it to the blog post.
2 comments:
That was the perfect venue for that day. I sat with and had a most interesting conversation with Robert Rockwell and his daughter. And it was a pleasant and unexpected surprise when Paul Levitz took care of the bill. He told me the good will of the day was worth far more than the cost of the luncheon.
It would have been great if they published a write-up on the day in the comics. Don't know if they did.
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